Hot Bench: Ashanti Jones ’26

Hi Ashanti, how are you doing? How are you feeling today?

A little nervous? Because I've never been on this side of an interview, except for, like, a job.

Well, you should really consider this a job.

Oh, this is a job.

Yeah . . .

I'm in my professional class era.

Oh, look, the 1Ls  are clearing out [of the Law Weekly office].

They're shocked by a professional hotbench. 

(1Ls: No, we have 2:10 Property on Friday.)

Anyway. So Ashanti, what question do you really want to be asked?

 Ooh, that's a good question. I don't know . . .

Let's circle back to it at the end.

Okay.

You can ponder it in the meantime. We should do the whole “Where are you from?” thing.

Okay! I'm from Ashland, Virginia. I'm a 3L,  and . . .  what's the next part? I’m 24.

I didn’t ask it yet.

Oh. Hahaha

This is your Miss America intro—what’s your star sign?

I'm a Pisces.

Do you believe in astrology?

A tadbit. I think sometimes it's right, but then sometimes I just decide that's not me. Like, it's lying.

You're like, “Oh, it's wrong today because it said that I'm lashing out at the people around me that love me and that I need to stop doing that,” and you're like, “Absolutely not.”

Exactly, I'm not. I'm so wholesome. I'm such an angel.

It’s called ~*boundaries*~.

Yesssss.

I love that everyone who's an asshole now just says they have boundaries.

I loved when therapy-speak infiltrated Instagram. We've never been the same as a society.

Yeah, you would think it was AI that changed us forever, but it was actually therapy-speak.

Yeah, it was therapy influencers, too.

I agree, I think we need to take away mental health services. [joke]

Oh, and podcast mics.

Oh.

And Verizon internet.

Should we start a Law Weekly podcast?

Wait, actually, yes.

You just said we have to take podcast mics away.

But not from us. We are women with interesting takes that the world needs to hear.

How many women are there on the Law Weekly?

Oh, my gosh, it’s like, what is it . . . No, no, we're doing better. There's more now [than in 1L].

There are dozens of us.

Ladies!

Have you enjoyed your time at UVA Law?

I have! This was my number one choice. I’m very glad that I got to do law school here. I have had a lot of cool experiences, and I also just like being in Virginia because I'm from Virginia. So it was nice to be able to meet new people, but still be near my friends and family.

Important question.

Yes?

You told me you were going to come to my holiday party. Where were you? What were you doing?

Ahh! Okay. So my mom went on a cruise.

Wait, you actually might have texted me about this. Oops.

My mom went on a cruise with her friend, and both of them, no shade to 60+ people, but they're in that age bracket that neither of them has Uber or Lyft. And I was very nervous about them getting from the Miami airport to their hotel by calling themselves a taxi. So I was on standby, and I was also worried about them getting through the airport because neither of them had the app, and I didn't know what was going on with the flights because everything was getting canceled! So I had to be ready as flight support and Uber support, apparently.

The “Ashanti is an angel” narrative is back. And it’s true. She is an angel. Okay. I forgive you.

I am sad I missed a party, though.

That's okay.

Next time, I will bring a baked good to the function you have. Actually, I'll bring two baked goods.

You definitely don't have to do that.

I do want people to tell me that the baked good is good, though.

Ohhh, I see. Then yes, I accept. How's your last semester of 3L going?

Pretty good. I'm not trying to coast by, but I also don't want to take three exams. So we're trying to figure that out.

Believe in yourself.  Let’s circle back to what question you want to be asked. Have you looked upon other hot benches with jealousy and been like, “Gosh, I want to be asked that question?”

I want to be asked—Okay, this is actually—No, I won't do that . . .

Jesus.

No, okay, I’ll explain. In undergrad, I was on the newspaper there too, and we had someone submit an anonymous article where they were ranking the bathrooms around my college. And I was like, that's the funniest thing to come up with just on your own, and then to go a step further to write it out and submit it to the newspaper. So we published it. And I was going to say I want to be asked about my favorite bathroom at the Law School, but I'd be crazy to have that on record if I have to go before a committee or something.

A committee, huh? Yeah, you're right, that’d be so wild of you. But it’s important to think about these things in advance so you can't be perjured. I think you could pick a favorite. Do you have a favorite bathroom?

I do have a favorite bathroom.

I think that you could say that, but—wait—is it a really bad one?

No, I think my favorite bathroom is the best bathroom. I also don't want other people to now go to my bathroom, but it's 3L spring, so I only have one more semester with this bathroom. Future employers, please don't judge me. You know where the journal offices are, behind the bookstore?

Yeah.

If you go all the way down, there's—

Ohhhh, I know, right by the staircase to the Law Weekly office.

That's the best one. There's a bathroom before when you first get in that hall, right next to the printing office. But when you go a little further down, you'll find another bathroom and no one's ever in there. Truly. So I'll go to the bathroom, but then if I just want to scroll on my phone for a little bit, it's not weird because no one else is in there.

They don't know what you're doing in there.

It's true. It doesn’t matter if you're scrolling or answering emails. They don't know because no one knows. It's great.

I don't think that's going to get you in trouble.

Whew.

Final question. Do you think the two-and-a-half-year-long project of you, me, and Julie getting dinner or drinks or being in the same room at the same time since 1L will happen before we graduate?

Yes, I am committed to making it happen, actually. I'm also thinking this through, because next weekend, I don't think anyone has anything to do, but if it's Snowpocalypse, I don't know.

Pray for the children.

It’s supposed to be bad, so we’ll see.

Nothing would surprise me at this point.

I know. Is this interview even going to survive? They said we're going to lose power. Will this even make it to publication?

This is going to be an artifact after we're all cryogenically frozen.

It'll be like Pompeii.

Yeah.

Did you see Marty Supreme?

No. Isn't that the one where Timmy C is getting spanked or something?

Yes. No further comments. That's the whole movie. That was the most exciting part of the movie. This is my—scratch my earlier question that I wanted you to ask me. This is the question I want you to ask.

Oh, okay. No more bathrooms.

Ask my Oscar opinion.

What's your Oscar opinion?

I think it's crazy that Avatar got nominated for Best Costume when it's all CGI.

Wait, there was another Avatar?

Yeah, there's a new one. I haven't seen it yet. Does that defeat my claim? Maybe. But from what I've heard, it's all CGI, and then there's just loincloths.

Did it win, or is it just in the running?

Just in the running.

That is weird.

I'm like, who are we as a society? I’m missing something. How?

That's a really good question, honestly.

How did we get here? I want to poll the academy. It’s supposed to be secret, but I want them to audit [the Academy] because I want to understand that.

That checks out. In closing, any other Oscar things?

What is my last Oscar take? Um. Audit the Oscars.

I like that.

Oh, and good job, Sinners. I think they deserve the sixteen.

They got sixteen nominations?

Yeah.

Makes sense, it was a great movie. My algorithm was feeding me so much stuff when that movie first came out about how much research Ryan Coogler put into the movie, into every aspect of it. And I very much respect that.

I know!

There were so many layers.

I love it when movies do that. There are so many. The Virginia Law Weekly loves you, Ryan C.

You should hot bench him.

Come to Charlottesville! Like, as we say, “Come to Brasil.”

Come to Brascharlottesville.

Come to the Brazilian steakhouse in Charlottesville.

We don't have one.

We could make one.